


Enlightened

by Lostideas



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: First Time, M/M, One Shot, Porn With Plot, dystopian au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2019-07-10
Packaged: 2020-06-25 22:22:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19754941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lostideas/pseuds/Lostideas
Summary: After The Great Disaster, Luke's world is not the same. The only thing bringing him joy now are his mid-night ventures with Michael. But suddenly Michael shows up to his window with something forbidden; something dangerous. And in the adventure that follows, Luke discoveres way more than he thought he would.





	1. Let's Live

‘Luke, sweetheart, can you take out the trash before lights-out?’

Luke’s mother Liz walks around in the kitchen, scraping leftover food off of plates and loading the dishwasher. Luke stands up from his place on the couch and walks over to his mum. She smiles at him sweetly as he pulls the trash bag from the container.

‘My favourite son.’ Liz says loudly, side-eyeing Luke’s brothers who are spread out over the couch. They don’t even look up from the television; hypnotised. Luke gets it though, these 30 minutes on Friday night are the only television time they can afford and his brothers always try to make the most of it. They can consider themselves very fortunate for those 30 minutes.

Luke kisses his mother on the cheek before making his way out of the kitchen. He walks down the stairs and makes his way outside. The bins are placed around the back of his two-story house in Maroubra, Sydney. Luke has always loved Maroubra; especially the beach. It is a bike-ride away and has always been a popular surf beach. He remembered days of watching wales track north from the shore, surfing with his friends and getting burgers at the countless beach-side restaurants.

As he walks back to the front door he watches the sky. It is almost completely black now. A couple of years ago, the sky would be lit up with airplanes, being as close to the Sydney International Airport as they are. They again, years ago many things were different.

When he makes his way back into the house, his family is already sitting around the dinner table. He gives them a smile and sits down in between his father and Ben. It was his mother’s idea to close off the days like this. Family traditions had always been very important to her, and she simply adapted and thought of new things after The Great Disaster.

‘Today was a good day.’ Jack says, smiling. Jack’s smile is infectious; He is always keeping up their spirits and trying to be positive, and Luke is thankful for that because he could not be trusted with a task like that. It is no secret that he’s lost himself in the past years.

Seconds after, all lights shut off. His entire house turns dark and, like every night, Luke waits for his eyes to adjust.

Life as they know it.

_\---_

Luke eyes shoot open. He lays perfectly still for seconds, listening. His hand still automatically reaches for his nightstand, trying to turn on the lamp there, but no light fills his room.

He heard something.

His heart is pounding and goose bumps form on his arms. He curses the darkness with every swear word he knows, shaking under his sheets. His hand reaches now for the baseball bat he knows he’s got ready under his bed.

‘Luke.’

It takes everything in him to not scream. But Luke knows that voice.

‘Michael.’ Luke chokes out, on the verge of crying. Luke has always been a bit more sensitive than other boys his age. He used to hate himself because of it, but Michael has always told him it was good thing. The blue-haired boy himself was less in touch with his emotions, which led to a lot more reckless behaviour. Luke pushes himself up into a sitting position and makes out the tall silhouette of his best friend, standing by his window.

‘I am so sorry, I should’ve warned you.’ Michael whispers.

‘What the fuck are you doing here? We didn’t plan anything for tonight.’ Luke whispers back. Michael tip-toes over to his bed and crawls until he is sitting right next to Luke. He smells Michael and feels calmer. Michael is holding something in his right hand.

‘I need to show you something.’

Luke hears a click, and seconds later his room is filled with a harsh, white light. His jaw drops and he needs to blink and shield his eyes. It’s been years since he felt his pupils constrict, and he forgot how painful it could be. His room fills with light, dramatic and harsh, casting shadows and making Luke’s heart pound. Michael’s face is excited as ever, pale and angular in the light, his hair almost a fluorescent blue.

‘How in the hell did you get batteries?’ Luke shout-whispers when he finds his voice again, snatching the flashlight out of Michael’s hand and turning it off. He almost feels safer in the dark than he does in the light now.

‘I found them.’ Michael answers.

‘What? Where?’

Luke can’t make out the features of Michael’s face anymore, so he clicks the flashlight on again. A mix of excitement and fear bubbles in his stomach as the light fills his room again. Michael’s face is full of fearless mischief, which does not come as a surprise to Luke. He speaks before Michael can.

‘No.’

‘Yes!’ Michael immediately protests. He snatches back his flashlight and jumps off of the bed. ‘Get dressed. You do _not_ want to miss this.’

His friend paces around his room, wearing a black hoody and muddy sneakers. It is not the first time Michael comes to visit him after lights out, but it is the first time he brings a death-device. He puts it under his chin and pulls a terrifying face.

‘Turn that thing off!’ Luke says loudly. Michael’s eyes widen and he pushes a finger against his lips before clicking the flashlight off again.

‘You know how dangerous that is.’ Luke mumbles, pushing his sheets off of him and swinging his feet over the side of his bed.

‘Nothing has happened in _years_ , Luke.’ Michael protests. He walks over to Luke and sits down beside him on the bed. He puts his arm around Luke’s shoulders and pulls him in.

‘I found them in the Headland National Park.’ Michael starts. ‘I was walking around the other day after school, couple of hours before lights out. There was a whole pack of them. Just sitting there. It blew my mind.’

Luke looks at his friend, his eyes travelling down to his hands where he is still holding the flashlight. Michael continues.

‘I went home, dug around in my dad’s shed. Sure enough; he still had one of these. Can you imagine how I felt when they worked?’

Luke can imagine. It was the same combination of excitement, fear and hope that he felt when Michael just turned it on in his room.

Thirteen years ago, when Luke was ten, the disaster happened. After, the world had never been the same. Electricity is extremely scarce and so expensive regular families can’t really afford it. Luke is fortunate; his parents are able to afford enough to cook food for them every night and have 30 minutes of television time on Fridays. What they usually see on television are the extremely wealthy; the people who can afford all the electricity they want and then some. Batteries were long lost, and Luke’s life changed accordingly. Especially when the monsters started coming out.

These creatures awoke after sun-down and reacted to everything that produced light. They would destroy and murder. Soon enough a national curfew and a neighbourhood watch was established everywhere. Both of Michael’s parents, Luke’s father and brother Ben and some other people from their town had joined. The neighbourhood watch would patrol the streets at night, armed with weapons. Michael was next-in-line and would soon join when Luke’s father became too old. Michael joining the neighbourhood watch soon is an excuse he uses regularly to justify their nightly trips around town; they are just “practicing”.

Luke had not felt like himself in years. He used to be a happy, active kid. He can’t remember the last time he went to a party or did anything else teen-like; the darkness had not only swallowed their normal way of life but also the spirit of the people. Everyone seemed to live like a machine: wake up with the sun, go to bed at lights-out. Life was nothing more than just physically living.

Luke craved a thrill as much as Michael, which is why he showed up at his house quite regularly to go for mid-night ventures into town or to the beach. They would always dress in black and be careful to not draw any attention to themselves. However, the flashlight was a new feature making Luke very nervous.

‘Does it really matter?’ Michael says then. ‘Does anything? We are alive, Luke. We’re not living.’

‘Nobody is.’ Luke says, sighing. ‘We’re not special, Michael. We need to just get with the program. This is what it is.’

Michael stays quiet for a while.

‘Life will never be what is was when we were young.’ He says then. He turns his head to Luke, but Luke can’t really make out his facial expression in the dark. ‘I’ve got nothing to live for.’

‘Don’t say that.’ Luke says quietly.

‘It’s true, though, isn’t it? The only thing that brings me any kind of excitement to be alive in the first place are these nights with you.’ Michael continues. ‘And I know you feel the same way. Can you even remember going to the movies? Swimming and surfing? Evening ice-creams? Jesus, when is the last time you went out to eat? All we do is wake up, go to school to learn about a career we will never have, come home and go to sleep again. We are fucking dying, man.’

Luke shakes his head, pushes himself up from his bed and walks over to his dresser. He throws on a t-shirt, black jeans and a black hoodie. His heart is pounding as he turns around and finds Michael’s outline in the dark, still sitting on his bed.

‘Let’s live, then.’ He says. Michael stands up and makes his way over to Luke’s window. He pushes it open and slides out of it before helping Luke, who closes the window behind him. The autumn leaves crunch under their feet as they walk up to the street.

It is a cloudy, pitch-black night.


	2. Are you scared of the dark?

They are quiet as they walk down the Anzac highway. They are walking in the middle of the road; nobody in their town can afford a car and if they could, they wouldn’t be dumb enough to drive it after lights-out. Michael is walking on the white stripes in the middle of the road, trying to balance on them. Luke is keeping an eye out for neighbourhood watch, swinging his baseball bat front to back as he walks.

‘Have you ever had sex?’ Michael then randomly asks. Luke throws him a look he knowns Michael can’t see anyway.

‘Of course not. You know I haven’t.’

‘We’re 23, man. It’s weird.’

‘It’s not weird.’ Luke argues. ‘I don’t think anyone in school has had sex. Nobody is thinking about that stuff. We’re all too busy being depressed.’

‘I am!’ Michael protests laughing. ‘I think about it all the time. Depressed or not.’

Luke is laughing now too. ‘Well you’d be the only one.’

‘I think I want to do it with a boy.’ Michael says then, serious again. Luke stops walking to look at his friend.

‘Really?’

‘Yeah.’ Michael mumbles. ‘I think Chris, for example, is super-hot. I would want to do it with him. You?’

‘I have never thought about it.’ Luke answers truthfully. ‘But you shouldn’t do it with someone because they’re hot. You should do it because they are nice. Chris is a dick.’

He starts walking again. He never even thought about having sex, let alone with which gender he would do it. He always knew that at some point he would have to, but he always saw it as a necessary evil to keep repopulating the earth; something that he is not too enthusiastic about to begin with.

‘Have you kissed someone?’ Michael then asks. Luke sighs.

‘No. You know I…’

‘We should.’ Michael then says.

‘What?’ Luke stops walking and turns to his friend.

‘We should. Practice. With each other.’

Luke doesn’t know what to say. When the silence is getting awkward, he stammers ‘Michael… do you… do you like me?’

‘No!’ Michael says, laughing. ‘You are my best friend! I just don’t want to be green anymore. It’s lame.’

Luke shakes his head. He is about to say something again when he hears very faint chatter.

‘It doesn’t have to…’ Michael begins, but Luke harshly shushes him. Michael immediately shuts up and looks in the same direction as Luke.

‘Neighbourhood watch.’ Luke whispers, grabbing Michael’s hand. They start running away from them as fast as they can. Their feet slam on the road and too late Luke realises the noise is like fireworks in the quiet night. Next thing he knows, he hears people shout behind them.

‘Fuck!’ He groans. The sound of running feet behind them fill the night, disturbing the serenity.

‘In here!’ Michael hisses. He pulls Luke off the highway onto a sand road; Luke recognises it as Cromwell Road. Michael leads them onto the Pioneers Park sports field. They sprint past the football field until they make it behind the club house. Luke’s heart pounds in his throat and he gasps for air as he leans against the stone building. Michael laughs a little and sits down next to him.

‘Nice.’ He breathes. Luke shakes his head.

‘Sorry. I should’ve watched out better.’ Luke is scared, but also a little bit thankful for the interruption; he didn’t want Michael to talk any more about sex or “practicing”. He didn’t really want to be green anymore either, but he wanted his first time to be with someone that he really liked romantically.

‘It’s okay.’ Michael answers.

They wait behind the club house for a bit. Luke is thankful for the darkness now; there is no way the neighbourhood watch could’ve seen them going here. If his dad and Michael’s parents would’ve found them out and about in the middle of the night, having an actual flashlight on them, it would’ve been the end of their freedom. Luke remembers the last time someone was out with a flashlight.

‘We’re playing with fire here.’ He says then. Michael goes quiet beside him.

‘Yeah.’ He answers. ‘I know.’

‘Do you know what they would’ve done if they found us? With a _flashlight_?’

‘I know, Luke.’ Michael sighs.

6 years ago, when they were 17, their classmate Jasmine Rupa climbed out of her bedroom window with a flashlight, just like Luke and Michael had tonight. Except she wasn’t careful at all and clicked it on as she was on her way to see her then-boyfriend Sean. The next morning, the neighbourhood watch found pieces of her body and bloody clothes outside of the old Woolworths. Ever since then, neighbourhood watch became bigger and armed heavier and teens became more watched by their parents. Luke was lucky enough to gain his parents’ full trust; Michael was lucky enough to be able to pick the double lock his parents put on his bedroom door.

‘I’m sorry I dragged you into this.’ Michael mumbles after a while. ‘Just because I don’t care about my life doesn’t mean you shouldn’t care about yours.’

Luke sighs, steps over to Michael and pulls him up from his sitting position. He hugs his best friend.

‘It’s okay.’ He says. Then he laughs a little. ‘I felt pretty bad-ass just now.’

When he pulls away from Michael, his friend is grinning.

‘We’re not too far from where I found the batteries.’ He says then. The clouds have moved a bit and the moon is now freely shining. Luke can make out Michael’s facial features a bit better as he watches him step around Luke and point towards the treeline in the distance. ‘We could walk there. See if we can find anything else. Exciting, right?’

‘This is a horrible idea.’ Luke says, nailed to the ground from his place on the grass, shaking his head at his friend. Michael turns around, grins and lifts the flashlight he’s still holding.

‘What?’ He says teasingly. ‘Scared of the dark?’

\---

Luke walks close to Michael. Without the moon, their surroundings are even darker. The uneven forest ground does not help, and Luke has to put his full focus towards the earth to make sure he is not falling over every other second. Michael leads them deeper and deeper into the woods, determined to find the same spot again.

‘What else do you think we might find?’ Luke says then quietly. It’s been a while since either of them said anything and the soft sound makes Michael jump a little.

‘I have no idea.’ He answers. ‘More batteries?’

‘What would you want to do with those anyway?’ Luke says. ‘We can’t even use flashlights.’

‘Maybe give them to my parents. They could use them for other things. Like maybe a CD player. We could listen to some music.’

Luke nods and smiles at the idea. It’s been a while since he heard music from anyone else than himself and his own guitar; there is no radio signal in Maroubra and a CD player uses up too much electricity.

All of a sudden Michael stands still. Luke wasn’t expecting it and bumps into his back.

‘What is it?’ He hisses. He steps to the side so he can see, and his jaw drops for the second time that night.

Neither of them says anything as they stand there in the dark, staring.

‘What the fuck.’ Michael mumbles then.

‘This is too much.’ Luke exclaims. He grabs Michael’s wrist. ‘We need to leave.’

‘Are you crazy?’ Michael reacts. ‘How can we leave something like this?’

He starts walking forward and Luke clutches the baseball bat he’s still holding. Right, _he_ is the crazy one.

He follows Michael, and seconds later he puts his hand down on the roof of the black car parked on a narrow dirt-road in the middle of the woods. The driver's door is open, but nobody is in sight. There is a big dent in one of the back doors. Michael is walking circles around the car, inspecting it.

‘How did you think it got here?’ He asks, his voice curious. ‘Nobody in town owns a car, right? I don’t think I’ve seen one here in over ten years.’

‘I think it’s none of our business.’ Luke answers, an unsettling feeling in his stomach. ‘Michael, we clearly weren’t meant to find this, okay? We need to leave.’

Then Michael gasps. ‘Luke!’ He hisses. ‘Come look at this!’

Luke stumbles over to him. Michael is holding open a small compartment on the right backside of the car. Just like Michael, Luke hasn’t really seen a car in over ten years; it takes him a while to place what he’s seeing.

‘This is where normal cars put the petrol in.’ Michael explains when he notices Luke’s puzzled look.

‘But this one has a plug.’ Luke fills in.

‘Exactly.’ Michael whispers. ‘This is an electric car.’

‘We need to _leave_.’ Luke nervously states again. But Michael has other plans; he walks over to the drivers’ side. He looks over his shoulder at Luke and raises his eyebrows. Luke shakes his head aggressively, but Michael just grins and dugs down to sit down on the drivers’ seat.

Luke let’s out an irritated sigh. He is shaking as he pulls open the passengers’ side door and climbs into the car too. Michael lets out a low whistle and touches the dashboard, steering wheel and clutch.

‘Look.’ He then whispers. He points to the ignition, where a pair of keys is dangling.

‘No.’ Luke says, stricter this time. ‘ _No_ , Michael.’

But Michael is like a badly disciplined child, and his hand reaches for the keys. He gives Luke one last look and turns them. Within seconds, the whole car lights up. Lights start flickering on the dashboard and the headlights click on; two bright beams of light illuminating the forest in front of them. The radio turns on and starts blasting loud music. Luke screams.

‘Turn it off!’ He yells at Michael. All colour drains from Michael’s face as he turns the keys back. The darkness and quiet returns. Luke and Michael both slam their doors closed and breath heavily. Luke starts crying.

‘I fucking told you, Michael!’ He hisses. Michael shushes him and grabs his hand. They sit in silence, Luke trying to contain his sobs. Visions of creatures tearing them apart as they did with Jasmine flash through his mind. He clutches his baseball bat and squeezes Michael’s hand.

They wait, but nothing happens.

‘Let’s go.’ Michael whispers.

‘No.’ Luke says, terrified. ‘We’re staying in this car until the sun comes up. I am not setting another step into this forest.’

‘Luke, it’s okay.’ Michael says. ‘I will just…’

Michael is fumbling with the flashlight. He accidentally clicks it on. Light spreads through the car, illuminating Michael. Right beside him, through the class, Luke sees a person’s face looking into the car.

That’s when Luke starts screaming again.


	3. Electricity

Within seconds, Luke is out of the car. He is terrified, but in his system are several years of combat training he got from his father to keep himself safe. He sprints around the hood of the car and runs towards the person next to the drivers’ door. Just seconds before his baseball bat makes contact with the person, Michael switches off the flashlight.

Then it all happens really fast. Whoever is standing in front of him, now completely disappeared into the darkness, grabs the baseball bat, pulls it out of Luke’s hands and comes for him. Within seconds he is slammed over the hood of the car, his hands restrained behind his back. Luke screams and struggles to free himself, terror souring through him.

‘Calm down!’ The person yells at him. Michael stumbles out of the car, turns on the flashlight and shines it on Luke and he person pushing him against the car.

‘Calum?’ He chokes out.

‘Turn off that fucking thing! What the fuck are you even doing with that? Are you fucking insane?!’ The person yells. Michael obeys. The grip on Luke’s hands becomes weaker and he begins to sob.

‘It’s okay.’ The person above him then says, softer now. He lets Luke go, who stumbles into Michael’s arms. The smell of his best friend calms him down as his eyes try to get used to the darkness again. His heart is racing.

‘Its okay.’ The person repeats. ‘I’m Calum. We go to uni together.’

Luke barely saw anything of the person as he tried to attack him in a terrified craze. Now, in the darkness, he can’t make out a single feature of the silhouette. Calum is a kiwi guy, originally from New-Zealand. He’s got a shaven head and tanned skin and is generally a very closed, private kind of person. Luke doesn’t know much about anyone he goes to school with, but he would argue he knows the least about Calum.

‘Michael?’ He asks, slowly freeing himself from Michael’s arms.

‘Yeah, he is Calum. It’s true.’ Michael answers. ‘You… you have a car?’

‘Okay, first of all, what the fuck are you two doing here?’ Calum ignores Michael’s question. He seems very in-control of the situation, more annoyed than scared.

‘We’re just, like, on a walk.’ Michael says, immediately realising how dumb that sounds. Calum sighs.

‘I can’t believe I have to deal with this shit right now.’ He groans. ‘Get in the car.’

‘What?’ Luke squeaks.

‘Do you want to be eaten alive by monsters that are obviously on their way because of your brilliant stunt with my car or do you want to fucking live?’

‘C’mon Luke.’ Michael says, grabbing Luke’s hand and jumping onto the back-seat. Luke quietly follows him, sitting down on the expensive-looking leather backseat. Calum jumps into the front, closes both doors and starts the car. He turns off the lights and radio with two clicks and starts driving slowly over the pitch black dirt-road, all the while swearing quietly.

‘Grumpy much.’ Michael mumbles.

‘I will kick your ass out and leave you to die.’ Calum mumbles, but there is not much heat behind his words anymore.

‘Can you at least have your way with me first?’ Michael answers cheekily, making Luke blush. Calum just shakes his head and doesn’t answer. It takes a while for Luke to stop trembling and calm down completely. The car hardly makes a sound as it glides through the forest, Calum purposely driving very slowly.

‘Where are we going?’ Luke asks as he finally feels calmer again. He doesn’t believe that Calum would hurt them, but then again, he can’t be sure.

‘Somewhere fun.’ Calum replies cryptically. Luke throws Michael a look, but his friend doesn’t catch on in the dark.

‘And what exactly is somewhere fun?’ Luke continues.

‘I shouldn’t even be taking you guys here.’ Calum answers. ‘But seeing you guys out there practically trying to kill yourself out of boredom… you need it.’

‘Need what, man?’ Michael chimes in. Calum turns his head for a moment and makes quick eye-contact with them.

‘Electricity.’

\---

The mansion they roll up to is straight out of a horror movie. Luke doesn’t even see it until they are right in front of it; it is deeply buried in the woods. All the windows are blacked out so that you cannot see inside; it looks abandoned but it is in decent condition. It is big but not too gigantic; made out of dark wood, with two large pillars on each side of the entrance and a small staircase leading up to the porch.

‘Oh, fuck no.’ Michael spits out as he sees the house. ‘I’ve seen cabin in the woods, man. Turn this car around.’

Calum just laughs as he parks the car on the small gravel driveway in front of the house.

‘It’s okay, Clifford. You’re not being murdered, I promise.’

‘Your promise doesn’t mean shit.’ Michael mumbles. Calum shuts off the car, pulls out his keys and steps out. He walks over to Luke’s side and opens the door for him.

‘Princess.’ He says as he makes an extravagant motion towards the house.

‘You must think I’m insane.’ Luke says, not moving a muscle. Calum sighs.

‘I know it looks bad, but inside it’s actually really nice. We blinded the windows to keep the light form coming out, that’s why it looks creepy. We spend last summer making it almost completely sound-proof.’

‘We? Michael notices.

‘Me and Ashton. You’ll meet him. He’s great. Come on, we have parties here. And I can tell you guys need that. _Trust me_. But please do leave your baseball bat inside the car.’

Luke looks at Michael and then back at Calum. He sighs, puts down his baseball bat and steps out of the car. Michael follows him, and Calum locks the car. Seconds later they are climbing the stairs to the porch that feels surprisingly sturdy and doesn’t creak like Luke expected. Calum pulls a key out of his back pocket and opens the front door. He pushes Luke and Michael into a small, pitch-black room and closes the door behind them. On the walls Luke feels soft, foam-like material.

‘It’s gonna be a bit bright.’ Calum says as he carefully moves past them. Luke hears a click, like a door being unlocked, and seconds later the tiny room fills with bright neon lights and booming dance music. Look shields his eyes and moves a little bit closer to Michael, who touches his hand briefly to calm him down. Luke blinks a couple of times and feels Michael gently push him into a way bigger room. Calum closes the second door behind him, and Luke finally gets a change to look around the room. His jaw drops.

The living room is all wood; supporting beams holding up the sealing, a wooden table and chairs in the corner, an unused fireplace and huge windows covering the back wall all blacked out by cardboard and wood boards. Attached to the supporting beams are stage-lights Luke only remembers from that one time his mum took him to the Sydney Opera House to see a ballet. They cast pink, green, blue and yellow light onto the floor, illuminating the people sitting at the table playing cards. To his left, he can look into another room. There is no furniture there, but there are more colourful lights and many people are dancing. To his right there is another room, but the door to that one is closed. Luke’s mind is blown; not in ten years has he seen such an explosion of light and sound after lights-out.

‘Welcome to Villa Volta.’ Calum says, laughing a bit at their reaction.

‘As in voltage?’ Michael mumbles.

‘As in voltage.’ Calum confirms, still laughing. ‘Do you guys want a drink?’

Luke nods slowly. He follows Calum into the room on his right. The door opens into a very spacious living room with leather couches and huge book shelfs. This room is bathing in softer, more yellow light. The music is softer but still audible in here. There is a kitchenette in the room, the counter covered in red cups and liqueur bottles. When they enter the room, one of the guys sitting on the couch jumps up and hurries towards them.

‘Cal! Motherfucker! I thought you were dead. Where the fuck were you?’ A curly-haired boy their age wraps his arms around Calum.

‘I’m okay man, it’s okay.’ Calum answers, hugging him back. ‘I was just driving up when a fucking monster body-slammed the side of my car. There’s a huge dent man, I’m gutted. I sat for a while and went for a little walk to calm down when I bumped into little red riding hood and the wolf here.’ Calum points at them.

‘Who is who?’ The boy asks, giggling. Luke blushes and puts his hand up.

‘I’m Luke.’ He says, feeling brave. The boy throws him a smile consisting of pure sunshine and happiness and shakes his hand.

‘Ashton.’

Michael introduces himself as well and they all walk towards the kitchen counter.

‘So what were you doing outside at this time in the middle of the woods?’ Ashton asks as he pours him and Michael a Bacardi Coke.

‘I found some batteries around here the other day.’ Michael says excitedly, holding up and switching on the flashlight he’s still holding.

‘Fuck me, that’s where they went.’ Calum sighed, shaking his head. ‘I lost a pack of them when I was heading here the other day.’

‘And you were just walking about shining that thing around?’ Ashton continues.

‘We figured we could find more.’ Luke chimes in. ‘And we sort of did.’

Ashton smiles at him and Luke feels a bit nervous. Ashton is attractive; more so than any boy that he knows or anyone that goes to their school.

‘Where are you from?’ He then asks, realising he’s never seen this man before.

‘I move around a lot.’ Ashton answers. ‘Originally Coffs Harbour. And now here for a while, since we found this place.’

‘I am still a bit mind-blown.’ Luke admits. ‘How did you guys pull this off?’

‘When I moved here, I met Calum while working out. When we went on a walk through the woods we found this place. We spend some time here, not believing anyone was actually using it. Then we fixed up the place and made it as good as sound proof.’

Michael downs his drink in one go and slams his cup down on the counter.

‘Well, that’s fucking delightful Ashton. I have not been to a party in years. I’m gonna dance.’

Calum grins at him and follows Michael out of the room. Ashton looks at Luke and smiles a soft smile.

‘You wanna dance with me?’

Luke doesn’t trust his voice and so he just nods. Ashton leads him out of the room, through the living room, onto a dancefloor in the other room. Bodies are dancing everywhere and Luke feels a little overwhelmed. His anxiety melts away as he feels Ashton grabbing his hand.

‘Have you danced before?’ He shouts over the music. The question is more legitimate than Luke would like to admit; lights-out started when he was ten and he has never really been to a party like this after or even before that. He shakes his head and Ashton grins.

‘Come on!’

A new song starts playing. Luke doesn’t know it but it is deep and full of bass and sexy. All the lights have switched to a deep red. Ashton leads him to the middle of the dancefloor and starts moving. He keeps his eyes on Luke as the blonde boy starts carefully copying Ashton’s movements. Ashton comes a bit closer and grabs a hold of Luke’s hips. He feels awkward with the drink in his hand, so he decides to just throw it back like Michael had done. He throws his empty cup on the floor after and moves closer to Ashton. When he looks up into Ashton’s eyes, he feels good. He looks around and he feels good. This is something he could be; a party person. Luke closes his eyes and lets the music take control of him; no longer following Ashton but making his own movements and swaying his hips from side to side. He feels freer than he has in years.

\---

‘You looked so nervous when we started dancing.’ Ashton comments, smiling. ‘You seem calmer now though.’

They are sitting cross-legged from each other on a bed in a room on the second floor of the house. Here, the windows are covered as well, but the room seems homely. There is one light on; a bedside table lamp. It casts a soft, yellow-ish light over the room, Ashton looks even better in it than in the disco-lights downstairs. Ashton moved into this house when he and Calum found it, he explained to Luke. Luke can’t really imagine Ashton living here on his own; he himself would never want to live in a mansion in the woods all on his own.

‘I was very nervous.’ Luke says softly, smiling. ‘This is all very new to me. And you said; “ _As good as”_ sound proof? What does that even mean?’

Ashton giggles.

‘It means that maybe people could hear us. But only if they come close.’

‘But monsters?’ Luke says, leaning into Ashton a bit more. He feels good; better than he has in forever. The music and the dancing made him feel so much better; so much more relaxed. He has tingly feelings in his stomach caused by the boy across form him.

‘Monsters react to light, not to sound. I would even argue that they are def.’

‘You think so?’

‘Oh yeah.’ Ashton nods. ‘I was face to face with one before. I was… not in a very good place. It was late and I was taking a walk on the beach when I saw one, just meters away from me. It was pitch-black; he couldn’t have seen me. I screamed at it; it did nothing. Didn’t even turn its head.’

Luke’s eyes widen. ‘Why did you scream at it?’ He asks. Ashton smiles a sad smile.

‘As I said; I was not in a good place. Did not really care to be alive, to be honest. I think that, with the wold being as it is today, we all have those moments. Right?’

Luke nods slowly, agreeing with Ashton’s words.

‘Why did you leave Coffs Harbour?’ Luke asks then.

‘I didn’t have a reason to stay.’ Ashton answers. He lets himself fall down on the bed on his back. ‘I didn’t have anyone there. I never knew my dad, and my mum was murdered by a monster.’

Luke breathes out slowly.

‘I’m so sorry.’ He says.

‘It’s okay.’ Ashton answers. ‘It still hurts, of course. But it was a long time ago. She was one of the first after The Great Disaster.’

Luke slowly lies down as well.

‘I bet she was amazing.’ He says. He can almost feel Ashton smiling.

‘Oh, she was. Definitely. And you?’

‘My family?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Oh, they’re normal, I guess. My dad is cool. My mum is sweet and overprotective. I have two brothers; they’re nice. One of them is part of the neighbourhood watch together with my dad. My dad also taught me how to fight, kind of. I am not good at it. But he taught me how to handle a baseball bat.’

Ashton laughs at that.

‘Really? You seem so soft.’

‘I seem soft?’ Luke asks with fake indignation. Ashton laughs and turns his head so he’s looking at the boy that’s already got his eyes on him. His eyes are hazel; Luke notices now.

‘I feel like my life has been on pause.’ He then blurts out. Ashton his smile disappears and makes room for a serious expression.

‘I feel like, when it happened, since I was ten, I have been doing nothing. I have been living for nothing. And it breaks me. More than I realise. I have not felt alive like this in years. It’s weird and painful.’

Ashton nods slowly. ‘I get what you mean. Trust me. I think everyone here does.’

‘Where did you… where did you get all this stuff? Calum’s car, the stage lights, the… electricity.’

‘There is a huge black market.’ Ashton answers. He is still smiling a little, but seemed almost ashamed now. ‘There are ways to create it yourself as well.’

‘Seriously?’ Luke asks.

‘Oh yeah. The government doesn’t want you to know because they make the money from selling the electricity, right? But there are ways. I promise you. There are also people investigating the monsters. Luring them and catching them and doing research on them. I know that it all seems never-ending and like we are stuck, Luke, but there are people at work. The scientists of the future. And they will help us get out of this shit. I travel with them, try to learn from them. They are very secretive, but they are good people. We are here now for a while because this national park is a good place to hide. We do these parties every two weeks or so. Sometimes I do feel bad, hogging electricity like this from families that can use it. But it is all I can do to stay sane. Those few hours dancing and _living_ … it’s all we have.’

Luke’s head is spinning a little bit. He is suspicious but he wants to believe Ashton; wants to believe that there are people out there fighting for things to go back to the way they were.

‘And then someone like you comes walking in one evening and I know that there is still some good in this messed up world.’ Ashton softly adds. Luke turns his head again and stares at the boy.

‘Too much?’ Ashton asks, giggling. But Luke doesn’t say anything. Instead he leans in slowly. He is nervous and unsure and almost backs out when Ashton leans in, places a hand on his cheek and closes the distance between their lips.

Luke had never been kissed, but even without any prior knowledge he can tell it’s amazing. Ashton kisses him slow, his lips soft and sweet from the alcohol. His thumb strokes Luke’s cheek before he pushes his fingers into the boy's hair. Luke can feel the whole world around him fall away as Ashton kisses him; it is such a new, exciting thing and at the same time it makes him feel so blissfully normal. Luke can’t help but let out a little moan when Ashton’s lips leave his for a second so he can turn his head. It seems to urge Ashton on; he comes closer until he’s leaning over Luke, supporting himself on his underarms. Luke remembers he has hands and brings them to Ashton’s shoulders, awkwardly holding him. Ashton’s lips leave his to give him a kiss on his cheek before moving onto his neck, sucking and biting softly, giving Luke shivers. One of Ashton’s hands slides under Luke’s t-shirt and he can’t help himself anymore.

‘I am a virgin.’ He blurts out. Ashton’s head comes up from his neck and he raises his eyebrows at Luke. ‘And that was also my first kiss.’

‘Wow, okay.’ Ashton answers, taken aback a bit. He takes his hand out of Luke’s shirt and sits up. Luke regrets it immediately, feeling empty without Ashton close to him. Feeling brave, he pushes himself up too and crawls on top of Ashton, straddling him. Ashton carefully places his hands on top of Luke’s thighs.

‘You don’t have to do this just because you think it might be the only time you’ll be able to.’ Ashton says softly. ‘I am not going anywhere for a while.’

‘No, no. That’s not at all why I want to.’ Luke answers. And he feels that he does want to; he can feel it everywhere in his body. His heart is pounding and the tingling in his stomach is back and he feels warm and nervous but so, so ready.

‘I have not felt this alive in years.’ He says then. ‘Maybe ever. I want that. I want you to make me feel so damn alive. Like a normal boy doing normal boy stuff. Like I am just here, in the world as it used to be, but a bit older, in bed with this guy I like, ready to do something that’s so natural it almost feels weird in this whole unnatural world.’

‘You are pretty good with words, being as shy as you are.’ Ashton comments, laughing. ‘And a pretty good kisser too. A natural.’

‘I am naturally good at everything I try.’ Luke answers, finding some of his wit back as he relaxes on top of Ashton. Ashton hums and runs his hands up and down Luke’s sides.

‘I think you are really special.’ He says then. ‘You make me feel alive, too.’

Luke places his hands on Ashton’s neck and kisses the boy again.

Soon Ashton has him on his back again, Luke’s legs wrapped around his back. They are kissing harder now, Luke getting really into it. He is holding on to Ashton’s honey-coloured curls, moaning when the boy grinds down on him and rubs his clothed hard-on against Luke’s.

‘Can I take your shirt off?’ Ashton asks, his voice deep and laced with arousal. Luke nods frantically, which makes Ashton giggle a little. He pushes himself up and helps Luke out of his shirt before taking off his own; displaying his toned, slightly tanned stomach. Luke never really felt insecure, but with this absolute god on top of him he can’t help but cover his belly a little bit. Ashton smiles softly as he catches Luke’s wrist and slowly brings it up next to his head, pinning it down against the bed. Luke’s stomach does a somersault.

‘You look really beautiful.’ Ashton comments and he leans down again. They kiss and the boy’s hands start roaming over Luke’s body. It feels so intimate and good it makes Luke shiver. When Ashton let’s go of Luke’s arm, his own hands slowly start to discover Ashton’s body too; from his toned belly to his strong arms. He becomes more and more uncomfortable with the tightness of his jeans as Ashton continues to rut against him.

‘Ash.’ He breathes out. ‘Can we… can you… take them off?’

Ashton pushes himself up again, smiles at Luke and nods. He gets all the way up from the bed and walks to the dresser on the other side of the room. When he walks back, Luke can tell he’s holding a condom and a small bottle of lube. He feels a bit nauseous with excitement, especially when Ashton drops his jeans and crawls back on the bed in just his boxers. The boy's strong tights and the clear outline of his dick makes Luke’s mouth water.

Soon Ashton peels off Luke’s jeans as well and climbs back on top. Luke’s head spins; he can feel so much of Ashton now. He lets out a surprised moan when the boy starts to palm him through his boxers.

‘What do you want me to do?’ He asks, his eyes on Luke as he massages him gently. Luke bites his lower lip. This already feels so amazing; he’s not gonna last a minute.

‘I am not sure.’ Luke answers truthfully. He feels so green, so extremely new to this. Ashton nods slowly, grabs the waistband of Luke’s boxers and pulls them down slowly. Luke feels incredibly self-conscious in the lighting, however he is thankful for the soft yellow glow it gives instead of a harsh, all-revealing white. He can’t help but stare when Ashton pulls down his boxers as well.

The boy is big. Luke doesn’t need a benchmark to know. Just looking at it, realising that that’s supposed to be _inside_ of him…

Ashton lays down next to Luke on his side, his head right next to him. They kiss slowly and lazily as Ashton let’s his hand travel down over Luke’s torso and stomach slowly. Goose bumps rise over Luke’s entire body when he first feels Ashton’s hand on his dick; gentle but sturdy, stroking up and down. He rubs his thumb over the tip gently, forcing a moan out of Luke.

‘You sound amazing.’ Ashton compliments him. ‘I really can’t wait to be inside of you.’

It makes Luke blush. He is does not feel experienced enough to say anything back but he likes the way Ashton talks to him. They kiss a bit more before Ashton moves away from him and takes his place in between Luke’s legs, propped up on his knees. Luke becomes restless and sits up, resting one hand on Ashton’s hip and grabbing his dick with the other one. Ashton’s lips are slightly apart as he looks down at Luke slowly stroking him, trying to do to Ashton what he would do to himself. A soft moan escapes Ashton’s mouth.

‘That’s good.’ He breathes. Luke feels a strange sense of pride over this.

‘A bit more pressure, baby.’ Ashton instructs. Luke shivers at the pet-name and squeezes a bit harder. More moans fall from Ashton’s lips as his hands roam through Luke’s hair, the boy all the while leaving kisses all over Ashton’s stomach.

‘Do you wanna lay down?’ Ashton asks after a bit. Luke nods and leans back, laying himself down on the bed. Ashton sits all the way down now, leaning over and grabbing the bottle of lube.

‘I am gonna open you up a little.’ He says softly. ‘To prepare you. Okay?’

‘Okay.’ Luke answers. ‘Just be careful.’

‘Of course.’ Ashton answers. Luke pulls his legs in and slowly opens them for Ashton. The boy slicks up on of his fingers and then slowly brings it to Luke’s hole. The sensation is new and so arousing to Luke it makes the boy moan louder this time. Ashton pushes very gently and slowly, giving Luke time to adjust. When the first finger is in, Luke is a moaning mess. Ashton pumps it in and out slowly, careful not the hurt the boy. But Luke doesn’t feel hurt at all; he feels amazing.

‘Ashton.’ He moans, his hands grabbing at the sheets underneath him.

‘Ready for a second?’ Ashton asks, his mouth dry as he watches Luke, angle like, squirming in the sheets.

‘Yeah.’ Luke breathes out.

A second one is added, which takes Luke more effort to accept, Ashton can tell. The boy frowns a little and bites his lip, slowly pushing the two fingers in and out. After a bit, Luke starts to relax more, and it gets better. Ashton scissors his fingers a little bit and pushes them up, making Luke shiver all over and moan loudly.

‘Yeah? There?’ Ashton asks, his voice heavy and deep. Luke nods frantically and responds with another moan. Ashton keeps touching the spot inside the boy, rubbing and teasing him. A bit later, when Ashton is three fingers in, the boy is still taking it so well.

‘I think you’re ready.’ Ashton then says. ‘Do you feel ready?’

Luke opens his eyes, not really realising he had them closed for a while. He looks at Ashton, who looks amazing in the soft light. Seeing Ashton’s hand in between his legs makes him blush and he nods at the boy. He could really worship this boy, he realises.

‘Yeah. I feel ready. Gentle, though.’ He responds.

‘Of course.’ Ashton answers again, smiling a sweet smile. He puts on a condom and slicks himself up with a bit more lube before bending down. He places one of his hands on the back of Luke’s thigh and pushes the boys leg a bit further up. Luke is trembling now, trying hard to keep his hands from shaking. Nothing that he’s ever felt can measure up to the pure excitement he feels when Ashton’s dick pushes against his hole.

‘Relax, baby.’ Ashton whispers. Luke nods, trying to breathe slowly. When Ashton pushes in deeper, he feels a sharp pain.

‘Ah. Ah shit.’ Luke breathes out.

‘I’m sorry.’ Ashton says, slowly leaning down over Luke. He pushes a bit further, making Luke moan.

‘Shit.’ The boy whines. 'Ash... you feel huge.'

Ashton quickly bends down to kiss him as a distraction. It is a heavy, open-mouthed kiss laced with arousal. Luke is shaking and holding onto Ashton for dear life, grabbing the boy’s bicep with one hand and his hair with the other. It hurts, but Luke loves the weight of Ashton on top of him. Loves the feeling of his warm skin, his scent, his soft touches and the pressure of his hips on Luke’s. Ashton looks up and makes eye-contact with Luke.

‘You’re doing so well, baby.’ Ashton breathes out.

‘Almost there?’ Luke asks in response, his voice trembling a bit. Ashton nods and pushes the final bit in, bottoming out. Luke whines and tenses up, Ashton rests his forehead on Luke’s.

‘That’s all baby. It's all in now. Try to relax.’ Ashton says. Luke nods and does just that; he relaxes every muscle in his body until he feels grounded. Ashton starts to move, rocking back and forth slowly. Luke breathes heavily. When Ashton grabs one of his hands and pins it to the matrass again, he moans out loud. Ashton’s face is inches from his when he starts to move faster, his hips rolling rhythmically against Luke’s, lips touching but not kissing.

‘Jesus.’ Luke breathes out. ‘You’re so good at this.’

‘You’re perfect.’ Ashton answers. ‘So good for me. So eager.’

Luke blushes hard at his words and whines when Ashton snaps his hips a bit harder than he had before. The pain is gone now; replaced by an all-consuming feeling of pleasure Luke has never experienced before. Ashton hooks one of his arms under Luke’s leg, pulling it up further while he pushes himself up with his free arm. He starts going faster; his hips snapping against Luke and pushing a wave of pleasure through his body with every thrust. Luke moans loudly and reaches down to hold Ashton’s hips. The boy hangs over him, his curls bouncing and his mouth half-open. Luke has never seen someone so hot in his life, let alone above him. His body is tense and he feels like he might burst anytime soon, heat building up in his stomach.

‘I think I’m gonna come.’ Luke chokes out. Ashton nods and lowers his body back onto Luke’s. His face comes close again, he grabs Luke’s dick and starts pumping it fast.

‘Come for me.’ Ashton groans. Luke doesn’t need more. He throws his head back, moaning loudly as he comes over his own stomach. Ashton leans in, burying his face into Luke’s neck.

‘Tell me when to stop.’ He breathes. He starts pounding into Luke, who lets out loud moan after loud moan. He wraps his arms around Ashton and digs his nails into the boys' shoulder, feeling the layer of sweat on Ashton's back. Luke almost tells him stop, almost becomes too sensitive. But then Ashton groans and stills above him, his body shuddering. He breathes heavily as he drops his weight down onto Luke, who enjoys the heaviness of Ashton on him.

‘Baby.’ Luke says softly. The pet-name feels good in his mouth, rolls nicely off his lips. He likes hearing it and he likes saying it to Ashton.

Ashton pushes himself up and looks down at Luke, smiling. Luke giggles a bit before Ashton kisses him again, long and passionate. Luke tenses up a bit when Ashton slowly pulls out, and trembles afterwards when he lays his legs flat on the bed. Both of their stomachs are sticky. Ashton rolls onto his back but Luke can’t really be an inch away from him right now and crawls onto his chest.

‘Hi.’ Ashton says quietly as he strokes Luke’s hair. For the first time that evening Luke feels how tired he is.

‘Was that okay?’ Ashton asks after a while. Luke looks up at him.

‘Yeah. That was amazing. You are so sweet. I felt so good.’

Ashton smiles and hugs him a bit closer.

‘I don’t want to leave.’ Luke whispers. Ashton’s hand moves slowly up and down his lower back. ‘I don’t want this feeling to end. I want to stay here with you.’

‘You can come back to me whenever you want.’ Ashton answers. He looks down at Luke and feels how damn fond he already is of this beautiful boy laying on his chest. Luke nods slowly and reaches for Ashton’s hand.

‘Promise?’ He asks.

Ashton squeezes his hand.

‘I can’t promise you that I can protect you from all that is out there, or even that I can stop your pain. But I can promise this; from now on, you will never be lonely again.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A vibe for this one;  
> 1\. Tove Lo - Disco tits  
> 2\. Disclosure - You & me (Flume remix)
> 
> Good smut is hard to write pls forgive me


End file.
